17.07.2017 / 17:51
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Wuppertal, 17 July 2017 - GESCO AG, a Prime Standard-listed company, is strengthening its Healthcare and Infrastructure Technology segment, which includes companies that are benefiting from the "good health and well-being" megatrend and serve mass consumer markets such as medical technology, cosmetics, hygiene and food. The segment, GESCO Group's second largest, comprises six companies with total sales of around EUR 120 million and some 730 employees. It is characterised by robust business performance that is relatively unaffected by economic fluctuations.

Over the past two financial years, this segment's companies have invested around EUR 14 million in their technical equipment, with another roughly EUR 10 million to follow in the current financial year. The main focus is on expanding capacity for further growth and automation solutions for increasing efficiency.

Last Friday, Haseke GmbH & Co. KG in Porta Westfalica, Germany, for example, opened a new production hall that significantly expands the company's assembly capacity. In its Medical and Industry divisions, Haseke develops and sells suspension arms and swivel arm systems, as well as control boxes and display brackets. The ergonomically optimised products are used in medical technology, mechanical engineering, plant construction, automation technology and other industries. The company has been recording a constant rise in sales for many years.

Investments are also being focused on AstroPlast Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Frank Group, Hubl GmbH and Setter Group. AstroPlast, a manufacturer of high precision injection-moulded technical plastics, is scheduled to move into newly constructed, state-of-the-art headquarters with optimised logistics. Frank Group will be commissioning a further automated forging line, which will be used to manufacture a new product group of agricultural wear parts, among other products. At the same time, the automation solutions are increasing the competitiveness of the leading European provider of agricultural wear parts.

Hubl GmbH has also dedicated itself to expanding capacity and will break ground on an annex to its existing facility this year. A specialist for high-end stainless steel products, Hubl supplies sectors such as the biotech, pharmaceutical, medical and food industries. Setter Group, a leading provider of paper sticks for the hygiene and confectionery industries, is expanding its production capacity at its headquarters in Emmerich, Germany, and in the US.

Dr Eric Bernhard, Chairman of the Executive Board of GESCO AG: "Our PORTFOLIO STRATEGY 2022 envisions targeted investments in those projects that generate the highest returns on capital employed. We are taking a close, critical look at all investment projects and consciously investing in projects that aim to increase competitiveness, as well as in expansion projects that will allow companies to further expand their leading competitive position and raise their earnings. We see growth prospects for this that are supported by positive megatrends, along with comparatively stable end markets that are resistant to the business cycle, in the Healthcare and Infrastructure Technology segment."

Picture:
Opening of a new production hall at Haseke GmbH & Co. KG in Porta Westfalica on 14 July 2017. From left to right: Kirstin Korte (Member of the Federal State Parliament), Oliver Gubela (Department for Economic Development), Dr Eric Bernhard (CEO GESCO AG), Uwe Kunitschke (Managing Partner Haseke) and Bernd Hedtmann (Mayor).

About GESCO
GESCO AG is an industrial group with market and technology leaders in the investment goods industry focusing on production process technology, resource technology, health and infrastructure technology as well as mobility technology. As a stock listed company on the Prime Standard, GESCO AG offers private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of leading small and medium-sized industrial German companies, so-called hidden champions of Germany's Mittelstand.